Draft tube for beer apparatus



Feb. 13, 1940. D. T. LEONE ET AL `*DRAFT TUBE FOR BEER APPARATUSFilednec. 5, 1939' i comprises an outer tube Patented Feb.' 13, 1940 jUNITED d sTArEs TENT y orties 2,190,634 omer 'roes Fon nenn APPARATUSDaniel T. Leone, Cannelle Pagano, and Anthony Cosentino, Newburgh, N. Y.

Application December 5, 1939,` Serial No. 307,688 i claims; loi. 22e- 3lvelocity with respect to successively .decreased steps of velocity sothat when the beer is delivered to affaucet for discharge, the same`isunder a predetermined lpressure to effect theforrnation of the desiredamount of 'oarn appearingon the surface of the beer'discharg-cd into 'acontainer.

With the above and-otherobjects in view that Vwill become apparent asthe nature ofthe in vention is better understood, the same consists ingeneralof certain .novel` details of constructionv and: `combinatioi'lof partshereinafter more fully described, illustrated in theaccompanying drawing and specifically claimed. l

In the accompanyingv drawing: Figure l is a side elevational View of a`draft tir-.be for beer apparatus constructedin accord--v ance with thepresentlinvention, Y p

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary `longi-` tudinal. '.ectional viewtaken .on line 2-2 of Figure l, showing a series of concentricallyarranged pipes within the tube of gradually increased diameters ander"successive lengths with a removable cap at the lower end of the tube' to`iacilitate cleaning thereof, and

Figure 8 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view, similarlao-Figure 2, showing the cap .formed integral with the plug atthe innerend of the the entire contents of the leeg as well as the orig.: o

When the valve is opened tube thatcarries the conical pipes. ,g y

Referring more in detail tothe accompanying drawing, the draft tube forbeer-apparatus having a valve casing upon itsupper end provided with athreaded connection 'igior attach-` ment ci a pipe or conduit that leadsto the dispausing faucet, the valve casing` 6 having a valveAthereincontrolling dow through the tube and operated by means of thevalve handle 8. l

The .lower end of the tube tis internally threaded as shown in Figure 2for threaded en-` gagement with a plug l that carries a dependingmarginal harige lil defining al bottom pocket ll that is closed by aremovable threaded cap` i2. The plug ilv has an axial bore i3vltherethrough of the desired length and the4 outer side of said plug ilis preferably provided with annularly reduced stepped portions lil` andit respectively defining annular shoulders lll and il. The outer side ofthe plusr S below the .shoulder 'it is annularly reduced as shown in'Figure 3 and threaded for the threaded reception of the lower end Aofthe tube 5.`

A pipe iii is secured at itslower lend within the upper-endet the boreS3 in the plug 49, a

second inclosing conical pipe 'lo surrounding the iunerpipe i3 havingthreaded engagement at its tower end with the outer faceof the annularlyreduced portion l5 of theplug, `while a. third inclosing pipe 2lisurrounding the' pipe i9 has threaded engagement atv its lower end withthe annularly .reduced portion it or said plug. .The lower ends of thepipes lll and 2G `are preferably lnoved into engagement withltheabutment shoul-,l dersl'i and lil respectively. It will lbe observed pthat the lengths of the three pipes lll, I@ and 2l! are successivelystepped, the pipe lll being longer than the pipe l 8, while the thepipe`lil. H

A beer inlet opening 2l for the lower end of l the tube ii is formed inythe annular wall lil` depending `from the plug Sl above the closure capl2. and diametricallyopposite said inlet opening 2l there is provided4an upwardly inclined relatively smaller beer jet. opening 22.A i

The draft tube t is mounted Within a beer keg in the usual manner andafter assembly with other beer apparatus appurtenances and `it haw` ingbeen understood that the beer in the barrel l is placed under ydesiredpressure, it having been found that `when the pressure of 40 pounds smaintained, the beer can beldelvered atthedis-A` charge faucet at thedesired pressure and with the desired amount oi foam as well asmaintaining the quality throughout the dispensation of inal tastethereof. by the handle il, pressure in the rkeg forces the beer intotthetube through the inlet opening 2l and also through the jet opening til,the latter functioning as'- a venturi to increase Velocity, agitato thebeer and initially start thefoameproducingstep. The beer is thendelivered` under pressure upwardly through the inner pipe l and pipe 2liis longer than when under said pressure of pounds, the rela-' tivelysmall pipe i8 functions as a venturi with the beer flowing through at anincreased` velocity,

ythe beerwhen reaching the upper end it of the tube spreading laterallyinto a larger volume inthe surrounding pipe i9 with the Velocitythereoff reduced, the same reaches the upper end lee of said pipe i9. The beerat this point then discharges into the outer pipe where the same spreadsto larger volume and at reduced velocity to the upper end 20a of thepipe 2li, the beer thereafter entering the outer tube 5 fory delivery byWay of the valve to the discharge faucet. The several pipe sections i8,IS and 2E! functioning as venturis produce an initial increase inVelocity of the beer and a step-by-step decrease in such velocity, thereduction in the speed of iiow resulting in the building up offoam-producing action y so that when the beer is delivered to thedischarge faucet under the original i0 pound pressure in the keg, thesame will be discharged into a receptacle or container with the properamount of foam thereon.

In Figure 2 oi the drawing, the cap I2 at the lower end of the plug 9 isillustrated as being de- 'tachably engaged therewith to facilitatecleaning of the tube, but in some instances it may be desirablek to formthe tube integral with the plug and as shown in Figure 3, the cap l2a isintegral with the plug 9a, the outer tube and concentric pipes otherwisecorresponding to the form of invention shown in Figure 2 and beingidentied by similar reference characters. While it is not desired tolimit the tube l5 and the pipes E8, I9 and 20 as to proportions, i. e.,diameters and lengths, it has been found that the device works withgreat eiciency when the center pipe I3 has a 1% outside diameter andbeing 19"y long, the pipe I9 having an'outside diameter of and being 23"long, while the outer pipe has an outside diametero and is 27" long. Itis also to be understoodfthat the pipes and tube may be constructed ofany material desired, it being found that chromium plated brass pipesproduce lexcellent results. Theow of beer from a faucet may becontrolled as to volume by the number and size of pipes installed withinthe draft While there are hereinshown and described the preferredembodiments of the invention,

it is to be understood that minor changes may be made in the details ofconstruction, such as will fall within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

We claim:

1. In a drafttube for beer apparatus, a tube having a control valve atits upper end, a series of concentric pipes in the lower end of the tubeof gradually increasing' lengths outwardly with the inner pipe onlycommunicating with the lower end of the tube and the lower end of thetube having beer inlet openings therein.

2. A draft tube as in claim l, wherein a plug is mounted in the lowerend of the tube for the support of the pipes and said plug having a boretherethrough communicating with the inner pipe.

3. A draft tube as in claim 1, wherein one ofk said openings is of arestricted jet type.

4. A` draft tube as in claim l, wherein a plug is mounted in the lowerend of the tube for the support of the pipes and said plug having a boretherethrough communicating with the inner pipe and one of saidbeer-inlet openings being of a restricted jet type.

5. A draft tube as in claim 1., wherein a plug is mounted in thelowerend of the tube with annularly reduced stepped portions providingshoulders for the support of said pipes.

6. A draft tube as in claim l, wherein a plug is mounted in the lowerend of the tube with annularly reduced stepped portions providingvelocity in an upward direction of beer flowingl through said tube.

. DAl\l'l`.rllLy T. LEONE.

CARMELLO PAGANO. ANTHONY COSENTINO.

